Article Author:
Associated Press
Cathy McCormack
Concord, New Hampshire (AP) — A hermit known as River Dave — his cabin in the New Hampshire woods burned down after nearly 30 years. Did. On property, ordered to leave — found a new home in Maine.
The 82-year-old David Lidstone installed windows in his rustic three-room cabin, I am in the process of installing the chimney. He said this cabin is on the land he purchased.
"The foundation needs restoration work," said Mr. Lidstone, who received more than $200,000 in donations after the fire, in a telephone interview Monday. "It's just an old camp, but I enjoy working there." and declined to provide contact information for the landlord. A search of the Maine County registry did not show any recent transactions involving Lydstone, but the cousin confirmed that he had moved to Maine, and a Facebook post said that Lydstone had A photo appeared of him with his family in their new home.
"He was working on putting it together, clearing the land, planting a garden, and raising chickens." He's moving forward," said Horace Clark, Lidstone's cousin of Vermont.
He said he had to leave Canterbury, New Hampshire, after a dispute with another landlord since 2016 over a wooded area near the Merrimack River he called home. A judge issued him an eviction injunction in 2017 after landlord Leonard Giles sued him, and another recently fined Lydstone $500 a day if he didn't move. I ruled.
There were many delays in this incident. On top of the pandemic, Lidstone didn't always show up in court, and he was in and out of prison as he resisted injunctions.
It was also difficult for him to serve Lidstone by notifying him to appear before the court. He has no vehicle access to the property, which is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) into the woods. According to allegations filed by Giles' attorneys, in January one of his process servers slipped and fell off an embankment, injuring his leg while trying to reach Lidostone.
In March, a judge said that if Lydstone did not leave the area by April 11, he would face daily fines. Separately, Lidstone faces trespassing charges related to the property.
Giles, aged 87, of South Burlington, Vermont, died in his July. It was not immediately clear whether his death would change the circumstances of the case.His attorney did not respond to a request for comment. said. "I had nothing against the old man," he said.
However, he seems to embrace a new life.
"We have all kinds of friends here," he said. "I have friends every weekend all summer long." Last August, when Lidstone was imprisoned for a property dispute, his cabin equipped with solar panels It burned down during demolition at Giles' request. The local fire chief said the fire was accidental.
Lidstone agreed to collect the rest of his belongings. He secured his temporary home when he found his next place to live (he had an offer), believing he could never go back to being a hermit. Late last year, however, he returned to a shed on the property that escaped the fire and filed more lawsuits.
"Sometimes you have to stand up for what's right," he said. said in January.
Court records show that the undeveloped land has been owned by the Giles family since his 1963 and is used for timber harvesting.
Lydstone, who represented him in court, said years ago that the father of the current owner had made a promise to him to allow him to live there, but he was not in writing. He claimed he did nothing. He also disputed whether he was on the premises in the first place.
